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Fox Primary School

Fox Primary School welcomes RBKC’s plan to revisit its decision to remove the Kensington High Street cycle lane

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The Letter

Fox Primary School
Kensington Place
London W8 7PP

27 January 2021

We are writing to warmly welcome RBKC’s recent announcement that the council is revisiting its decision to remove the Kensington High Street cycle lane. During the brief period in which it was in place, the KHS protected lane was a game changer for our school’s staff, giving many the confidence to begin cycling to work for the first time while massively improving the safety and wellbeing of those who were already commuting by bicycle. School staff and other key workers have been called upon to continue to travel to work throughout every stage of the covid crisis, whilst being advised not to take public transport. The cycle lane gave us a safe and accessible option to do so.

Our wider school community was also strongly in support of the new safe cycling infrastructure, with some parents reporting that the lane had already enabled them to leave the car at home for the school run. We had hoped this was the beginning of a much larger, long term shift. School run traffic can account for one in four cars on London’s roads at peak times, so any reduction in car trips to and from school reduces congestion for other road users, and reduces exposure to road danger and toxic air pollution for our pupils and others who live and work in RBKC.

Shifting routine journeys like the school run in densely populated areas like RBKC is also an essential way we can empower the next generation to drastically reduce our collective impact on the climate crisis. We discuss these topics extensively in school and the children are highly attuned to the need to make big changes to the way we live our lives today in order to safeguard their futures. But individual decisions like how to travel to school are ultimately determined by the choices available, and if cycling to school is not seen as a safe option for children then parents will not choose to do it. Without the protected lane, nobody could claim that KHS is safe for children to cycle on.

Fox Federation is 100% behind RBKC’s commitment to become a carbon neutral borough by 2030. We believe it is clear that this target cannot be met unless changes are made to our streets to support and empower people to make more environmentally friendly travel choices, and to encourage a rapid move away from unnecessary car use.

Cycling as a means of transport is accessible to all. From a social justice point of view, schools are becoming increasingly aware that a car based COVID recovery is not an option for everyone. Safe and reliable cycle links provide a freedom of movement within and between boroughs for all that is easy to take for granted. Active travel also forms a big part of the discussions we have with children about a healthy lifestyle. We are facing an obesity crisis and developing children’s understanding of how to approach each day with a health-conscious mind-set is paramount.
All of these benefits of active, sustainable travel are key reasons why the government has strongly supported road space reallocation away from cars during the pandemic, providing new guidance and funding for local authorities which we were hugely encouraged to see taken up by RBKC. 

After the announcement was made that the lane was under threat, Fox was contacted by a number of other schools in the borough who were similarly dismayed that this decision had been taken without any apparent consultation with RBKC’s educators. We would like to ask you now to focus your minds on your duty of care to your most vulnerable constituents, and to urge you in the strongest possible terms, on behalf of all school pupils in RBKC, to reinstate the KHS cycle lane at the earliest opportunity.


Sincerely,


Executive Headteacher
Fox Federation

Fox-letter-27-Jan-2021

Royal-Albert-Hall-supports-HSK-cycle-lane

Royal Albert Hall Supports the High Street Kensington Cycle Lane

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Royal-Albert-Hall-supports-HSK-cycle-lane

The Letter

Dear Elizabeth, Dear Johnny,

I would like to thank you for the work you and your team have done during the pandemic to improve access routes to the Royal Albert Hall and our partners in the Exhibition Road Cultural Group. Although we sit just over the border in Westminster, the majority of our visitors travel through Kensington and Chelsea to reach us. As we prepare to welcome audiences and staff back to the Royal Albert Hall again, having safe travel options is essential. Whilst we are keen to continue to promote the safety and convenience of our public transport system, cycling is surely becoming a more prominent and safe way for Londoners to get around the city.

Cycling is key as we work to encourage local audiences from London to visit the Hall. We want to encourage active travel and particularly discourage travelling here by car to promote health and well-being, reduce pollution and tackle climate change.

I commend the swift action you took to encourage cycling in K&C, particularly the new cycle lanes on Kensington High Street, opening up safer routes to the Hall and to Exhibition Road from the West. I feel strongly that the investment in this innovative approach must be allowed adequate time to be properly tested. The completion of routes in October, when the Hall was still closed, also coincided with beginning of autumn weather, darker evenings, road works and the introduction of first local then national restrictions. This makes it a difficult time to see the real impact of these changes. With the Piccadilly Line not-stopping at South Kensington for 12 months from February 2021, we will want to encourage more visitors and staff to switch to cycling to Exhibition Road and the neighbourhood. I urge you to continue to support safe cycling routes across the borough, including proceeding with the proposed route along Queen’s Gate.

Thank you both again for your ongoing support which is greatly appreciated.

With best wishes,

Craig Hassall
Chief Executive, Royal Albert Hall and Co-Chair, Exhibition Road Cultural Group

Physio Motion

Local Business, Physio Motion, Supports the High Street Kensington Cycle Lane

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Physio-Motion-Cycle-Lane-KHS-2

The Letter

Dear Felicity Buchan and Tony Devenish,

I am writing to you after seeing your joint statement regarding the cycle lane on High Street
Kensington. As a business located on this road I am sure you are very interested in its effect on us, especially after you have received the data from the Kensington Business Forum.

Prior to the cycle lane being implemented, I had a number of concerns about this road:

    1. Patients and staff were unable to cycle to our clinic as they felt unsafe on High Street
      Kensington. Patients also found it difficult to walk from the nearest tube station or bus stop; this is because their mobility was often affected by their injury or surgery and they found it difficult to safely cross road junctions.
    2. With the business providing clinic and home visits for our patients, we often travel from the clinic to patients’ homes in or just outside the borough by bicycle. During these journeys we would receive daily near misses or abuse from drivers as we were ‘in their way’.
    3. My patients that you would consider disabled will not cycle in the borough as they feel unsafe, but many of them are cycling in other boroughs and areas that have segregated lanes or low traffic neighbourhoods.

Many High Street Kensington junctions are difficult to cross as motorists speed around the
corner or blindly turn, forgetting that the highway code states that pedestrians have priority once they have started crossing a side road. Many of these concerns have been addressed on High Street Kensington with the current cycle lane. There is still room for improvement but the current arrangements are nonetheless vastly superior in addressing my above concerns.

Whilst some people may reason for removing the lanes in order to improve traffic flow, I cannot see how this would help as these lanes previously were permanently used for people to park in (many people doing illegally) or bus stops causing traffic to stay in the lanes that they are currently using.

On a more personal point, since the cycle lane has been implemented I have been told by my patients that live in your borough that they do not worry as much about me bicycling to their homes. Previously they thought I was crazy cycling in London and if I was more than 5 minutes late, due to traffic or a delay with a previous patient, their first thought was that I had been knocked off my bike by a motorist. I think that is really sad that they do not feel their area is safe enough for active travel.

In my medical professional opinion, a lack of cycle infrastructure to make active travel more accessible and safe for all ages and abilities risks increasing diseases (both lifestyle and environmental) in our population. This will result in an increased demand on the NHS, which is already under huge amounts of stress.

I hope this letter has been informative and you will reconsider your opinions on the cycle lane.

Kind regards,
Zoe Birch BSc (Hons) mCSP HCPC
Director of Physio Motion Limited

Fox Primary School Expresses Support for the High Street Kensington Cycle Lane

Fox Primary School Expresses Support for the High Street Kensington Cycle Lane

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Fox Primary School Expresses Support for the High Street Kensington Cycle Lane
Fox-Primary-letter-2

The Letter

Fox Primary School
Kensington Place
London W8 7PP


Executive Headteacher: Paul Cotter
Head of School: Emma Madden
Deputy Headteacher: Rosalind Morgan and Hannah Smart
Telephone: 020 7727 7637
E-mail: info@foxprimary.co.uk
Website: www.foxprimary.co.uk


Dear Cllr Thalassites,

We are writing to express our enthusiastic support for the recent progress made by RBKC in improving cycling infrastructure in the borough. Fox Primary school is a well-established RBKC institution with strong and far-reaching community links. As such, we feel this is a discussion that very much involves us and impacts us every day. While we understand the protected cycle lane on Kensington High Street is still unfinished, even in these early stages, we have seen a huge range of benefits that we hope to see develop.

As a school, our principal priority is the children. Put simply, well-considered cycling infrastructure provides more safe transport options for more children. Of course, the benefits of a safe route to school are significant since this journey is made twice a day at some of the busiest times. Encouraging families away from vehicular transport with a safe alternative will ease congestion on the roads surrounding schools. Driving school runs will become cycling school runs. We have been very pleased to see that RBKC are taking their duty to protect the most vulnerable road users seriously.

By providing a range of environmentally friendly travel options, we can empower the next generation to drastically reduce our collective impact on the current climate crisis. We discuss these topics extensively in school and the children are well equipped with the right attitude. This is vital since the impact of air pollution on young people is especially significant. However, without infrastructure in place, it is difficult for them to action ideas that they know are beneficial for the environment. Prior to the new cycle lane on KHS, there were effectively no safe cycling routes for our school community, which was a major deterrent to families choosing to travel in this way. Of course, reducing pollution caused by unnecessary car use will go a long way towards RBKC’s goal of becoming net carbon neutral by 2030.

Cycling as a means of transport is accessible to all. From a social justice point of view, schools are becoming increasingly aware that a car based COVID recovery is not an option for everyone. Safe and reliable cycle links provide a freedom of movement within and between boroughs for all that is easy to take for granted. Active travel forms a big part of the discussions we have with children about a healthy lifestyle. We are facing an obesity crisis and developing children’s understanding of how to approach each day with a health-conscious mind-set is paramount.

Since the start of the COVID pandemic, we have seen a huge increase in the number of staff members travelling to school by bike. When traffic was light, these journeys were safe and stress free. Now the roads are once again congested, those trying to travel by bike are feeling under threat. Especially when the road infrastructure makes little or no allowance for them. The KHS cycle lane has already made a significant and positive impact on the experience of those who use it, and has directly led to a number of our staff choosing to cycle to work instead of driving. It creates a clearly demarcated, safe space for vulnerable road users. While adaptations like this are vital for key workers during a pandemic, their obvious benefits extend well into the long-term.

Overall, we really appreciate the work that has gone into implementing the first RBKC bike lane. Its positive impacts have been immediate and far-reaching. However, we believe there is still more to do. It was a shame to see that attempts at the integration of a protected cycle lane on Holland Park Avenue were swiftly blocked even before the formal conclusion of the public consultation on the plans. Therefore, we believe every effort needs to be made to maintain momentum on this project. We are keen to see the next stage of implementation take place. Junctions surrounding the new bike lane would benefit from careful consideration in order to integrate the new traffic dynamic effectively. Beyond this, we are excited at the prospect of a positive and forward thinking approach to improving cycling infrastructure in the borough at large.

On behalf of all of our staff and the wider school community, I want to offer my profound gratitude to RBKC councillors for your vision in taking action to make our streets safer and greener for everyone who lives and works here. Perhaps even more importantly, we thank you for your courage and tenacity over the coming weeks and months in maintaining your resolve to do the right thing by our kids.

Yours sincerely,

Paul Cotter